Apparatus for operating elevator-doors.



JINZABURO KURIMOTO, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON.

APPARATUS FOR OPERATING ELEVATOR-DOORS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Oct. 31, 1916.

Application filed June 9, 1916. Serial No. 102,760.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, J INZABURO KumMo'ro, a subject of the Emperor ofJapan, residing at Seattle, in the county of King and State ofWashington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inApparatus for Operating Elevator-Doors; and I do hereby declare thefollowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention,such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains tomake and use the same.

This invention relates to folding doors, and particularly to apparatusfor moving the doors in an elevator shaft when the car is level with thefloor at that landing.

The objects ofthe invention are to provide means on the car capable ofbeing thrown into connection with the door-actuating means at thelanding, when the car floor comes opposite thereto, so that the doorwill be opened mechanically and then closed mechanically unless theoperating means is thrown out of engagement with the actuating means.

Another object is to provide means for automatically disengaging theactuator from the door when the latter closes against its jamb.

Still another object is to provide a clutch between the drivingmechanism and the actuating means, and a control lever for such clutchwithin the car.

These and other objects are more fully shown by the accompanyingdrawings and description.

Figure 1 is an elevation showing the operating means and doors. Fig. 2is a fragmentary elevation of a modified base for more than two doors.Fig. 3 is a section through the car floor showing the motor, ad-

justment lever, and drive shaft of the clutch mechanism. Fig. 4: is adetail of part of the chain and guide pin enlarged' Fig; 5 is asectional view of the releasing plate and guide pin enlarged.

Like figures in like parts of the device.

As is well known, "many accidents, frequently causing death and injuriesto persons, occur by reason of persons falling down elevator shaftsthrough doorways or entrances to the shafts for the elevator cars, leftopen by. outsiders; and other injuries sometimes fatal'occur by reasonof persons falling intoor from the elevator cars when the cars areallowed to stop with the floors the difierent views show other fourfigures.

, Numerals l, 2 and 2 show thedoors of the elevator shaft which whenclosed form part of the wall of the shaft, butwhen opened by being slidsidewise leave open space for passengers etc. to enter the car withinthe shaft. These doors slide one over the other in the commonly wellknown method of construction. 3 and L represent the outside frame ofdoor 1, although the door may be made solidly as one part.

5 is the door post or jambagainst which the edge of the door is closed,6 is the base of the door 1 which extends below the floor line 8, and 8represents the thickness of the floor or partition between the floorline and ceiling of space below.

7 is a slot cut into the base 6 of door 1, V

on the end of the drive shaft 27 of a common electric motor 19, shaft 27being square from its extension beyond the journal 19, in order to causethe sleeve 25 and clutch member 20 to revolve as otheshaft 27 is causedto revolve by the motor, the sleeve 25 however being slidably placedover and moved longitudinally upon the shaft by the end 24 of lever 23which is pivoted on pin 2 F and operated by the handle 24 as determinedby the person in the car. The point 24* is placed within a grooved wheel22 fixed to the sleeve 25.

The motor 19 may be fixed to the under side of the. floor 18" of theelevator car by screws 19 or'other simple means and frame 26 connectedat 26 extends above the floor of the car and supports the lever by thepin 24*.

In the base portion 6 of door 1 at one end is a thickened'portion 6 intowhich is cut a U-shaped groove 12 with the ends of the U terminating oropening at the edge of the thick portion and its bend following the sameare as that of the sprocket wheel 10 at or near the base of its teeth.One of the hinge joints of the chain 9 is coupled with a sleeve 30through which is slidably fixed a pin 29 one end of which is providedwith a head 13, and the other end terminates in a rounded knob 31. Aspring 28 attached to the head 13 and sleeeve 30 holds the pin normallywith its knob 31 extended to its limit.

In the lower arm of the U-shaped groove is a stop block 32 with a springplate 17 which normally lies against the face of block 32; and throughblock 32 is hole 33into which is fitted slida'bly a bolt 17 normallyprojected by a spring 17 so as to have one end extended beyond the edgeof the door; but when this extended end of the bolt is pressed into thehole 33 the other end is projected against the down-turned end of thespring plate 17 whereby the same is raised and forms a sloping bed orcontinuation of the bed of groove 12 over which the knob 31 of the pin29 rides as the chain'is carried around by the sprocket wheels. Thearrangement of the clutch members 20 and 21 is such that they will notmeet or match except when the floor of the car and floor of the buildingare even.

.In operation, as the car is being used the motor is allowed to keep theshaft and clutch member 20 revolving, and as the car reaches a landingor floor the doors stand closed in the position shown in :Fig. 1, andthe operator moves the lever until the member 20 binds against the othermember 21 whereby the wheel 11 will be turned and the chain carriedaround in the direction of the arrow until the knob 31 of the pin entersthe upper arm of the U and reaches the bend in the same. When notpermitted by the chain to follow the groove, the pin carries the doortoward the left until the right end 14 of the slot 7 reaches the pin 11at which time the groove will be in a posit-ion with its bend conformingwith the circle of the left hand edge of the sprocket 11, whereupon theknob 31 will travel along the groove 12 until it strikes plate l7 onblock 32. The pin 29 will then drawthe door back or close it again untilthe protruding bolt 17 strikes the post 5 whereby the bolt will bedriven into hole 33 and'against the plate 17 lifting the same until itforms a slope sufficient to allow the pin knob 31 to ride over the block32 and continue on out of the groove and around the sprocket wheel 10into the upper arm of the groove, and into position to again open thedoors. It will thus be seen that so long as the clutches are inoperation the doors will be continually opened and closed, but theoperator simply moves the lever and disconnects the clutch when the dooris opened and when the door is to be closed he moves the lever to againconnect the clutch; the doors being incapable of being tampered with andleft open by persons outside the elevator car.

In order to prevent the knob 31 striking a square shoulder as it travelsinto the upper arm of the groove and again into the lower arm from theslot 7, the lower faces of these approaches are beveled at 12 and 12 toprovide slopes at such points over which the knob rises, as it does overthe plate 17. Another slope may also be provided at 12 in the bed of thegroove 12 at the point where the knob 31 binds against the wall of upperarm of the groove when it begins to open the door. In some cases it isdesirable to have several doors to move and slide one a U-shaped groovewhose arms terminate flush with its front edge, a pair of wheels,

a belt movable around them and having a pin adapted to enter said grooveand to move around the bend thereof when the door is open and the grooveregisters with one side of the-rear wheel, and means for throwing thepin out of the groove when the door is closed; combined with a clutchmember on said rear wheel, a motor on the elevator, a

clutch member constantly driven thereby, and means for moving thismember into engagement with the first-named member at will.

2. An elevatorshaft, a sliding door therein having a U-shaped groovewhose arms terminate flush with its front edge, front and rear wheels ateach shaft landing, an

endless belt passing around them and having a pin adapted to enter saidgroove and to move around the bend thereof when the door is open and thegroove registers with one s1de of the rear wheel, and means for throwingthe pin out of the groove when the door is closed against its jamb;combined with a female clutch member on said rear wheel, a motor on theelevator, a male clutch member constantly rotated thereby,

' and manually operable mechanism for moving this member into or out ofengagement 2 with the female member when the elevator stands oppositethe landing. I

' 3. A sliding elevator shaft door having U-shaped groove whose armsterminate flush with its front edge, a block in the lower arm of thegroove and having a hole through it, a spring-projected bolt in saidhole adapted to be borne inward when the door closes against its jamb,and a plate on the block movable to an oblique position by the inwardmovement of said bolt; combined with inner and outer wheels, means forrotating one of said wheels from the elevator when it is opposite alanding, an endless belt moving around them, and a spring-projected pinin the belt adapted to travel in the bend of the groove when the door isopened and the bend of the groove registers with the rear side of theinner wheel and to travel up said plate when the door is closed and theplate is inclined.

4. A sliding elevator shaft door having a U-shaped groove whose armsterminate flush with its front edge, a block in the lower arm of thegroove and having a hole through it, a spring-projected bolt in saidhole adapted to be borne inward when the door closes against its jamb,and a plate on the block movable to an oblique position by the inwardmovement of said bolt; combined with inner and outer sprocket wheelscarried by the landing, means for rotating one of said wheels from theelevator when it is opposite such landing, a chain belt moving aroundthem, a pin slidably mounted through one of its pivots and having a knobat one end, and a spring tending to project said knob whereby its headengages the upper arm of Copies of this patent may be obtained. for

the groove to open the door, travels around the bend of the groove whenthe door is open, engages the lower arm of the groove and the platethereinto close the door, and rides up said plate and moves out of thegroove when the door is closed and the bolt inclines the plate,substantially as specified.

5. A sliding elevator shaft door, a base therefor having a horizontalslot, a thickened portion at the front end of the base having a U-shapedgroove whose arms terminate flush with the front edge of the door andwhose bend crosses the slot, at block in the lower arm of the groove,a'plate at the inner end of said block, and means for in clining theplate when the door is closed; combined with front and rear pins in thelanding, the rearmost projecting through said slot, sprocket Wheelsjournaled thereon, means for rotating the rear sprocket wheel from theelevator when it is opposite the landing, a chain belt moving aroundsaid wheels, and a spring-projected pin in said belt having one endadapted to engage said groove to open and then to close the door, andthrown out of said groove by the plate when the door is closed,substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

JINZABURO KURIMOTO.

five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

- Washington, D. G.

